Profit and loss

[jbor]

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>From: Mike Weaver <mikeweaver at gn.apc.org>

> A dialectical view (as I see it) is that  dynamic processes are driven by
> the tension between the polarities that are found within. The direction of
> the motion is decided by which polarities are dominant.

In this model the "dominant ... polarities" might well be those with the
loudest voices or the largest guns.

> Pynchon's maturity
> as a political observer (IMO) is his portrayal of those polarities at every
> level he describes. His sympathies still shine through. Your "true
> dialectic" would have no motion, just a stasis of equal but opposite.

Not necessarily. It could also accommodate an ongoing process of change and
renovation. I think Pynchon represents this in the way that various
characters develop in their understandings of themselves and the world, and
in their effective responses to the world (eg. Benny, Slothrop, Pirate,
Katje etc). I'm not so sure that dialectical process is compatible with
utopianism.

> Ever since capitalism became a recognisable system on this planet, people
> have been making proposals of one kind or another for ways to alleviate the
> destruction that chasing profit causes.

And isn't this precisely the purpose of all those international and
cross-sectorial trade talks in Uruguay, Seattle, Melbourne, Montreal? I'll
ask my question again: taking into account the current state of the global
economy and international balance of power, what *positive*, *practical*
alternatives are being proposed by the anti-globalisation lobby?

> The debate as to whether capitalist globalization is
> 'totalitarian' is a red herring.

Yes.

> It is the simple moral authoritarian
> element that needs watching.

Yes.

best

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                Unless we convince developing
    countries that globalisation really does benefit them,
      the backlash against it will become irresistible.
      That would be a tragedy for the developing world,
            and indeed for the world as a whole.
                                Kofi Annan, Seattle

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